Friday Fun: A Look at CAL FIRE's Firehawk Helicopter

Direct link to July 31st video from CAL FIRE TV on YouTube

According to the information supplied by CAL FIRE in the text accompanying the video the Firehawk helicopter has a 1,000 gallon capacity water tank, is equipped with night vision, external hoist for rescue operations and can seat a nine-person helitack crew.

2025 Wildfire Season: West Dalhousie/Long Lake Wildfire Nova Scotia Canada

Direct link to August 26th video from CBC News Nova Scotia

Thanks to  a friend in eastern Canada who told me about the West Dalhousie/Long Lake Wildfire that is currently burning in Nova Scotia. The latest information is that this wildfire has burned  8,278 hectare (20,455 acres) with approximately 1,000 people being evacuated due to this wildfire that was first reported on August 13th. The fire is categorized as being out of control. For more information see this August 27th (9:31 AM) article from CBC Nova Scotia with photos and a video. Another media report on this fire may be found on Global News (dated on or about August 26th. You may also want to see the Interactive Map from Canada's Natural Resources that I accessed a couple of hours ago, the fire name is "06-007-2025"

According to the latest updates from Nova Scotia DNR posted on X (formerly Twitter) that I am unable to embed but you can find the information about this fire at the Nova Scotia DNR post to X (formerly Twitter) at 10:10 AM on August 27th (note that you may not be able to access the link without an account on X). To review what the Nova Scotia DNR said this morning: "The Long Lake Wildfires Complex is now estimated at 8,278 hectares. ... no new reports of damage to homes. ... Air resources: 6 helicopters, 6 planes plus bird dogs." 

Aerial Firefighting Training in New South Wales Australia

Direct link to August 24th video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube

I know that Coulson Aviation has a significant presence in Australia including Tanker B10, a 737 large air tanker, of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. I enjoyed this video because it gave me a peek into what flight crew training is like in Australia. While there are likely some differences in how flight crew training (pilots and other crews) in Australia and flight crew training in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere the goal is the same. That the flight crews have adequate training in the necessary procedures while flying fires and that they do so as safe as possible.

Friday Fun: Fire Boss Tankers Flying Fires Out of Richland WA

Direct link to Aug 21st video from Apple Valley News on YouTube 

I don't know about you but I always enjoy videos of Fire Boss (scoopers) air tankers scooping water and then flying fires. I long for the day when I can see a Fire Boss up close and personal but until that happens I am happy to watch videos like the one that I shared here for Friday Fun.

2025 Canadian Wildfires: More on Newfoundland & Labrador Wildfires

 

Direct link to August 19th video from CBC on YouTube

I continue to monitor the wildfires in Newfoundland and am now including Labrador. I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map)accessed on August 20th at 10 AM. Note that I am unable to access the Wildfire Dashboard on Chrome on my Mac, but the link works in Firefox and Safari.

By far the largest of the three out of control wildfires burning in Newfoundland and Labrador is the Kingston Fire in eastern Newfoundland, first reported on August 3rd, that has burned 10,708 hectares or 26,440 acres. and is still out of control. This is over double the hectares burned (5,236) that I wrote about in my August 11th post. According the CBC August 19th report that includes excerpts from a press conference by John Hogan, the Newfoundland  & Labrador Premier the fire has burned 107 square kilometers due to better and more accurate fire mapping. For reference, 107 square kilometers is 10,700 hectares. He reports that an estimated 203 structures have been lost and some of these structures are not residences but may be sheds, a school and the like. Finally he reported that water bombers and five heavy helicopters worked the fire on August 19th.

Other wildfires burning in Newfoundland & Labrador as of August 19th are two other fires that are out of control:

• Martin Lake Fire also in eastern Newfoundland that I last reported on August 5, has burned 1,770 hectares or 4,374 acres, an increase of over 1,100 hectares burned that I wrote about on August 11th.
• Udjuktok Bay Fire in Labrador, first reported on August 8th, has burned 571 hectares or 1,411 acres.

The Holyrood Fire in eastern Newfoundland, first reported on August 4th is under control at 22 hectares or 54 acres.

Finally the Paddy's Pond Fire, first reported on August 11th is being held at 318 hectares or 786 acres.

Definitions from the Wildfire Dashboard:

• Out of Control: A wildfire not responding or only responding on a limited basis to suppression action such that the perimeter spread is not being contained.
• Being Held: With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions
• Under Control: A wildfire having received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire.

All of Canada is having a severe wildfires season. For the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options including but not limited to active wildfires. For example, there is a 3,210 hectare out of control fire burning in Nova Scotia and several out of control fires in New Brunswick.

Coulson Aviation C130H Tanker Walk Around: Redardant Tank System

 

Direct link to July 12 video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube

Enjoy this nine minute video of Coulson Aviation RADS Modification Supervisor providing a walk around of the RADS retardant tank system on a Coulson C-130H airtanker (tanker 132)  RADS stands for Retardant Aerial Delivery Systems. I enjoyed this video because I love airtankers and appreciate getting a close-up view of the RADS system that I otherwise would not experience because I live across the country from Coulson's Thermal CA base.

2025 Wildfire Season: Canadian Wildfire Season 2nd Worse Fire Season

Direct link to August 13h YouTube video from CHCH News

I have a couple of friends who live in Canada and are deeply concerned about the wildfires burning in their province. I also have a couple of friends who live in the northern United States not far from the Canadian border. As someone who writes about aerial wildland firefighting and related issues, I want to express my concern for the severe wildfire season across all of Canada, the second worst season in Canada to date. I want to thank my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this video the other day, it is possible that I may not have found this video on my own. I wish all in Canada living hear wildfires my prayers for their safety. I hope that you heed any evacuation orders. I understand that structures including residences have been destroyed. I pray for the safety of all wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air as well as their support teams. I understand that aerial resources have been deployed to some of the the wildfires burning in Canada.

For the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options, e.g. active wildfires. If you click on the circular icon for a wildfire of interest to you, you should be able to get information on that fire.

NWS Incident Meteorologist at Dragon Bravo Fire (No Rim Grand Canyon)

I want to start by reminding my readers about the important work that National Weather Service (NWS) Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) do. IMETs are NWS meteorologists that receive special training to go onsite to wildfires to provide weather forecasts for the particular incident they are assigned to. They will do daily briefings and more if necessary. The goal is to keep wildland firefighters and others on site safe from harm from wildfires. IMETs may also be deployed to other disasters such as hurricanes, and flooding. For more information about what IMETs do, please go to Eyes on the Sky: A Day in the Life of an Incident Meteorolgists on the Front LInes of a Fire to read more about what IMETs do and what a typical day is like for an IMET assigned to a fire.. In addition to you may want to go my July 30th post where I shared a 12 minute video from NOAA Boulder .

Direct link to Aug 12th Facebook post by the US National Weather Service IMET where they shared this post on the Dragon Bravo Fire

I have been aware of the Dragon Bravo Wildfire  that was first reported on July 4th, caused by lightning.  As I write this post on Aug 13th at 2 PM, 144,432 acres have burned and it is 44 percent contained. Evacuations, restrictions and closures remain in effect. I am glad to know that an IMET is assigned to this fire.

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: Kingston Wildfire, eastern Newfoundland

Direct link to Aug 9th video from The Candian Press on YouTube

On August 6th I wrote about wildfires burning in eastern Newfoundland with updated information on August 7th and 9th. I am focusing today on the Kingston Wildfire in eastern Newfoundland. I went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map) they have on wildfires in Newfoundland (accessed on Aug 11th at 12:30 PM) Before a discuss the Kingston Wildfire, a brief update. The Holyrood Wildfire in eastern NF is now under control at 22 hectares or 54 acres burned. The Martin Lake Wildfire in central NF is still out of control with a slight increase in acreage burned of 265 hectares or 655 acres burned, up from 150 hectares that I reported on August 6th. 

All of Canada is seeing a lot of wildfires, for the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options, e.g. active wildfires and fire danger. For example a friend told me about wildfires in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Moving to the Kingston Wildfire that has burned 5,236 hectares or 12,938 acres, up from 721 hectares on August 6th.  According to the Canadian Press video evacuation remain in place and new orders have been placed due to extreme wildfire behavior ground crews were removed because of safety considerations. The government declared a state of emergency on August 9th covering the areas in Newfoundland affected by recent wildfires.

I found an August 10th report on the Kingston Fire on CBC that may be here. They say that more structures are threatened but due to the extreme fire behavior they have not been able to confirm if more structures have been destroyed. In addition, they report that there are airtankers and helicopters, including at least one high capacity helicopter, and a bird dog aircraft working this wildfire in support of the ground crews.

2025 Wildfires: Gifford Wildfire in CA Among Largest of 2025

As I write this on August 8th at 11:45 AM, the Gifford Wildfire has burned 99,232 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties in California. The fire is at 15 percent containment. Evacuations are in place and there are some road closures in the fire area. The fire was first reported on August 1st. See this Inciweb report on the Gifford Wildfire (updated at least daily while fire is active, you can find photographs and videos on Inciweb. High temperatures, low humidity and high winds are challenging the firefighters. There is aerial support. 

Please take a couple of minutes to watch this August 7th video from KSBY on YouTube from a Santa Barbara County official on the Gifford Fire. I am sorry that I am uable to embed this video here to share with you, but I liked this brief update.

In the map below you can see the progression of this wildfire. 

2025 Eastern Canada Wildfire Season: early August

August 6. 9:40 AM

Direct link to August 5th video from Global News on YouTube

Thanks to my friend in eastern Canada who told me yesterday about more fires in Newfoundland and sent me the video that I am sharing with you. 

 I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map) they have on wildfires in Newfoundland. According to the information that I saw as I posted this article (9:30 AM EDT on Aug 6) there are three out of control wildfires in eastern and central Newfoundland:

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 3rd with 721 hectares or 1,782 acres burned
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF), reported on August 5th with 150 hectares or 371 acres burned

If hectares burned in any of these three fires changes, I will update this post below, just scroll down.

The Wildfire Dashboard defines an out of control fire as "a wildfire not responding or only responding on a limited basis to suppression action such that the perimeter of spread is not being contained."

A map of current and past wildfires in Nova Scotia may be found on this webpage

I understand from the video that Nova Scotia is on heightened alert for possible wildfire starts. Both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have banned outdoor wildfires. Information on Nova Scotia burn bans may be found here. More information about wildfire season in Newfoundland may be found on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website.

Aug 7, 6:15 AM

I made a serious error in my Aug 6th entry where I did not refer to hectares burned. I corrected that entry to refer to hectares burned with a conversion to acres burned for readers in the U.S. 

Latest figures from the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website. The Kingston Wildfire has doubled in size and the Martin Lake Wildfire has a minor increase in size.

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 3rd with 1,432 hectares or 3,539 acres burned
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF), reported on August 5th with 210 hectares or 519 acres burned

August 9, 6:51 PM

Latest figures from the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website. The Kingston Wildfire has again doubled in size  and the Martin Lake Wildfire has a minor increase in size. 

The Wildfire Dashboard defines being held as follows: "With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions."

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF) remains out of control, reported on August 3rd with 3,001 hectares or 7,416 acres burned.
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned is now reported as being held.
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF) remains out of control, reported on August 5th with 245 hectares or 605. acres burned.

Dauntless Air on lightning

Direct link to August 4th post from Dautless Air on Facebook 

I saw these stunning photographs of lightning in the background with a Dauntless AT-802F Fire Boss aircraft in the foreground and could not resist sharing this with you. 

Airbus H125 Helicopter - Flagler County Florida

Direct link to video from Just Helicopters on YouTube 

Flagler County, Florida courtesy of Google Maps

I was reading the July/August 2025 issue of Aerial Fire - The Aerial Firefighting Magazine earlier this week, the cover story focuses on Flagler County Florida’s new helicopter, the Airbus H125 

For 22 years Flagler County Florida had an AS350B3 multi-mission helicopter. This helicopter was recently replaced with an Airbus H125. The H125 keeps the FireFlight name. According to Aerial Fire

The Airbus AS350 Écureuil series, alongside its modern successor, the H125, has become a cornerstone of aerial firefighting efforts across North America. As climate volatility intensifies, the frequency and severity of wildfires, particularly across the western United States and parts of Canada, are increasing. Consequently, the demand for highly versatile, reliable, and high-performance rotorcraft has never been greater. Among the platforms meeting this demand, the H125 has emerged as an undisputed leader, recognized globally for its exceptional capabilities in demanding mission profiles.

While FireFlight is used for aerial firefighting and prescribed burns, there are other uses for FireFlight. This includes but is not necessarily limited to search and rescue, taking accident victims to trauma centers, public safety flights, storm reconnaissance, and law enforcement.

Among the features of the H125 according to the Aerial Fire article:

• precision water and foam drops with a 210 gallon bucket
• in flight foam injection into the bucket
• crash resistant fuel systems improves pilot and crew survival
• FM radios to facilitate communication with ground crews
• alert sirens for discharge safety
• modern avionics
• interchangeable equipment for multi-mission uses.

After reading the article,  I was very impressed with Flagler County’s new H125 FireFlight helicopter. They are one of only two Florida Counties with their own helicopter, the other county being Miami-Dade. I don’t quite know how long the link to this article will be accessible, happens sometimes. If possible, I hope that you take the time to read this wonderful article. I commend Flagler County and the pilots, crews, and maintenance team for using FireFlight to keep their residents and business owners safe.